The use of splints in the treatment of certain injuries to joints and soft tissue is often an integral part of rehabilitation. Initially, following surgery or an injury, splinting can be used to immobilize and protect the injured area to allow healing. Unlike a cast, however, a splint can be removed for basic hygiene or wound care or to allow a patient to perform therapeutic exercises. Furthermore, depending on the injury and required treatment, a splint can be used to allow a range of motion to an injured joint.
Static progressive splinting, a technique using mobilization splinting with inelastic traction, is one of the most efficient methods for lengthening soft tissue with limited pliability and for increasing the progressive range of motion (PROM) of contracted joints. By splinting and maintaining tissue at the available end-range under low-load stress, the structures have time to grow new cells, and a new end-range is established. After the tissues lengthen, the inelastic mobilization component can be adjusted in small increments to maintain low-load prolonged stress at the newly established end-range.
Over the past twenty years, therapists have adjusted static progressive splints to produce low loads over a prolonged time. While rubber band traction was commonly used in the prior art, modern day static progressive splinting requires the use of devices that can be easily adjusted by the patient as muscles relax in the splint. Accordingly, therapists today typically construct static progressive splints by attaching turnbuckles or similar locking mechanisms to a thermoplastic brace and connect straps, strings, monofilaments, or click strips to the locking mechanism in order to position the splinted joint near the end range of motion.
While these modern day static progressive splinting techniques are effective for soft tissue rehabilitation, they are often heavy, bulky, or cumbersome. As a result, the devices can cause patient fatigue and catch on a patient's clothing. In addition, the large size and complexity of the devices precludes a therapist from using multiple units with a single splint and prevents a patient from easily adjusting the position of the splint. Accordingly, there is a demand for an improved mobilization device for use in static progressive splinting.